absurd

I don't think it's just the editing problem. There are a lot of places where it's inconsistent between what characters say and what they actually do

Wtf is going on. Is this drama allergic to relationship development? Zheng Yuan and Jiang Nanzheng argue all the time and then all of sudden she is the most obedient daughter in the world. GYY and A Xiu are getting married and he looks happy, when the last time we saw them together he was calling himself a sacrifice. And now it turns out JNZ is in love with GL (have been for many years, I might add) even though she thought of him as a brother like two episodes ago. And that's not to mention the supporting characters, Xie Lin and Hun Chuyu, anyone? He read her mail and acted like an arrogant jerk, wouldn't you know, they are getting married. Where's everything that was supposed to lead up to it? Things just happen. No explanation, not basis. 🤦‍♀️🤷‍♂️

I don't get the writing in this drama. It's like their motto is "words over actions". Characters do sh*tty things, then give "tear jerking" speeches and I'm supposed to be touched? What a mess.
(btw, this is not about GL, this applies to basically everyone).

Don't take this the wrong way, but are we watching the same drama? Or did you miss all the instances where Gao Liang tried to break them up and insert himself into their relationship, actually said to GYY's face that he was going to steal JNZ? His internal monologues were always right and self sacrificing, but his actions (except for the most recent episodes) never matched his words. Mind you, it's the writing problem that GL is so inconsistent, but I really wonder how you managed to get the impression that GL was "guiding them together".

It's the Friday-Saturday thing, only one episode. Unlike this suddenly turning into vip only, even though they promised one free episode a day, less episodes on weekends were in the schedule from the get go.
Supposedly the 9th cheated in the exercise, so GL decided that winning would be unfair and also to teach 720 a lesson. I was kind of confused about what the actual cheating consisted of too, because they only explained the training cheating (though that was not very clear also). Supposedly they'll explain it today, haven't seen the episode yet.
It was a bit annoying that Gao Liang suddenly turned into a tactical genius, even though in the beginning he could not string even the most basic concepts together. I understand that he now has education and experience, but people don't just grow a different brain. This drama really likes to just abandon logic and pretend that we're supposed to accept that this is as it's supposed to be (and it's not just about Gao Liang).

There's a big difference between "keeping some things to yourself" and making a person hate you because you think it will be easier. To me it's not about him keeping secrets, but about him being scared of having an honest conversation with her, maybe because he was afraid she will talk him out of it. And JNZ did not push him because she moved on, as there's no point in waiting.
Look, I understand that you want A Xiu and Gu Yiye to be together. But I don't. So, while I like Gu Yiye, I also will stand by the fact that in this specific situation he acted like an a-hole. It does not make him a bad person, just as JNZ making a dumb decision under the pressure from her superiors doesn't make her into a bad person. If you don't like the character, that's you right, but as I said, on this, we'll just have to admit differences and move on :)

Guess, we'll just have to disagree on that. I don't see any love between them and I won't for a moment believe that people can make themselves love someone out of duty. Companionship? Maybe. But so far I have only seen Gu Yiye struggle and call himself a sacrifice. We can talk all we want about the scenes that we somehow deleted, but whether they exist or not, I'm judging what I see and I haven't seen anything that can make me believe that they are in love.
But again, different people, different views.

Yes, she did. And how does it make what he did better? It's a relationship, not a competition of who hurts the other worse. He's breaking up with her out of duty, not because he does not love her anymore or out of revenge. Relationship means mutual respect and support, not trying to get even for past mistakes.

The choice of whether she wants to hate him for his decision and never see him again or if she respects it, and, after some time passes and it's less painful, would like preserve her relationship. Instead he just kicked her out of his life, because it was easier, than having a conversation. He just unanimously decided that it's better if she hates him. I love Gu Yiye, but he's a complete disaster when it comes to people and relationships.

Have to say, while I don't share your somewhat aggressive position towards this drama (nothing against it, don't take me wrong, just an impression I got from your comments), this is the one thing I definitely agree with. The less I see of that "sacrifice relationship" the better. Whatever they try, they are not going to sell me on the idea that anything good can come out of marriage like this. And they are not even married yet. After six years. The kid has grown up, what's the point?

I just think that he owed her the dignity of allowing her to make her own decision. She is not a child and knowing the truth she would have also eventually moved on. If he says he'll marry A Xiu, what is there to wait for? It's not like he's going to divorce he after the kid grows up.

You know, in this situation, it's his own decision. Even his father told him he should not do it, but he still feels like it's his responsibility. 24 was actually the first episode where I agreed with Zheng Yuan, at last partially. I actually thought that he and Gu Yiye were very much alike from the very beginning and that's why I did not understand why he took a liking to Gao Liang, but not GYY. I also thought that JNZ and GYY would break up exactly because he's so similar to her father and she will not want to go through the same thing her mother did. But ZY is not wrong, men like Gu Yiye are very difficult to love. When they get something into their head it is impossible to change their mind, they don't seek help, they go "I'm a man, it's my responsibility" and it's like knocking your head on the brick wall.
As for Gu Yiye not explaining, I guess, it's just my personal experience. I hated being given silent treatment or placating lies, instead of an actual explanation, so looking at this scene, I kind of wanted to kick his ass out of sheer frustration.

Ok, you know what. This time I'm mad at Gu Yiye. I hate. When men do that. Just god damn tell the truth and explain. But no. It's much better to just stand there and let her scream herself out. And she Will find out later on anyway. Not saying anything is just a cowards way out, it's easier that's what it is.
And I still think his idea is dumb, nothing good can come out of this self sacrificing crap.

Ah, I can now see where this whole thing is going and I don't really like it or find plot lines like this interesting (tragic duty marriage and sacrificing your whole life out of guilt), but here's hoping that after the next couple of episodes this won't be the focus of the story and we'll move on to military operations and training.

It's ok, I understand that it's uncomfortable that the character, your favorite actor is playing, is so hated and he's not even the villain of the story. I don't understand what the writer was thinking, writing him the way they did. Sometimes it seems like Gao Liang was written by two different people: one who shows his growth and idealism, and the other who makes him annoying for the sake of comedy or whatever the reasons are. I hope we will see more of the first one as the story goes. I was looking forward to the story about friendship between Gu Yiye and Gao Liang.

Yes. His actions and the way he always gets everything through connections, were they not present as innocent mistake of the great male lead, would have put him as the obvious villain of the story. I kind of wonder what people in China, who don't care about idols think. Maybe there's some cultural differences that we're not getting. Maybe there is some point to all of this, I'm despairing at this point.

Bipolar. That was the word I was looking for, it describes the way Gao Liang is written perfectly. It's like different episodes were written and filmed by different people. So one moment I can see the character progress and the next he's back in square one.

I have to support previous comments. Except for the one comment at the very beginning of the drama no one has ever commented on Huang Jingyi acting, all the comments were about the character. You need to remember that actor and a character are not the same. You might even take it as a compliment towards the actor, that his character has managed to provoke such strong reaction - that means that he acted him very well. Honestly, if Gao Liang was played by Xiao Zhan I would be twice as annoyed, first at the way the character is written and then at the fact that my favorite actor was given such an unlikable role.

You know the way some people play at helpfulness, where they go all "we're in this together. you know you can always come to me for help. etc.". But when it comes to actually helping, they find excuses why they can't. That's Gao Liang. He is the perfect example of this.

What I want to see the least in the next episode is that Gao Liang is probably going to go ballistic on Gu Yiye. Even though it's none of his business. Tbh, at this point I just hope that they won't make GYY quit or sacrifice his career. That he just marries her, but continues to work his way up in the army. In the dramas like this (where there's an actual storyline besides romantic one) I really prefer if there's no romance at all, sometimes it just spoils everything.